Rush wins $3M for disabled man against his former attorney

Former Alachua County employee Emanuel Baker, who became a quadriplegic in a work accident, will get more than $3 million from Gainesville attorney Christopher Chestnut as a result of a suit he filed against Chestnut after Chestnut represented him in an earlier suit against a utility company.

As a result of a settlement signed Wednesday by Circuit Court Judge Toby Monaco, Chestnut will get to keep $600,000 out of the $3.6 million he initially contended he should have gotten.

Attorneys Robert Rush, Marian Rush, and Jacob Rush tried the case over 8 days in December 2014 and won, the jury finding that Chestnut committed civil theft, breached his fiduciary duty as a lawyer, and exploited his disabled client. This final post-trial settlement means that there will be no appeals and the Bakers take possession of their money immediately.